Beside
by when-i-caught-myself
Summary: This is a companion piece to my other story, Near. When you saw him beside you you knew there was something new. To be at his side couldn't be any less wonderful.


Hey guys, WICM here :) This is a companion piece to my other fanfic 'Near', this time from Lavinia's POV. Hope you like it!

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><p>"There's a new Avox today."<p>

I'm jolted out from my early morning stupor and I brush some stray strands of hair away from my face. I look up, pretending I had been paying attention.

Mercius rolls his eyes and tries to give me an imposing look—difficult, because as small as I am, he's even smaller, but tries to make up for it with a towering green pouf and thick-soled shoes. "Wake up, Red! I _said_, there's a new Avox today and he's arriving right before lunchtime. So be prepared." He walks off.

A new Avox! I was, dare I say it, excited. Not that I was glad someone had become a voiceless slave of the Capitol, but I would like to know someone new.

I look at the fresh linens laid out on a low table at my right. I was to prepare the bedroom of my new companion. I pick them up and head towards the hallway.

Mercius suddenly pokes his head out from behind a door. "Hey, Red! His room's across yours." He disappears just as quick.

I nod to myself and continue walking. The sheets are plain white, made of cheap cotton, and nowhere near as luxurious as the bedclothes of the residents.

When I enter the room, I find nothing but an empty bed frame, table, and chair. Bare pillows are stacked against the wall, and the mattress is nowhere to be seen.

I shake my head slightly. _Ugh, of course_. I leave the linens on the table and venture out in search of it. When I find it, it's wedged in a storage closet on the opposite side of the building. I carry it back and quickly put on the bedsheets and pillowcases, because it's nearly breakfast time and I haven't eaten.

I make my way to the kitchen and start to prepare some food. The victors and their escorts won't be arriving until lunch, either, so all we have to do for now is prepare breakfast for Mercius and clean the whole apartment.

After he eats and I have had a quick breakfast, we set out to make the apartment presentable. And after many arduous hours of cleaning, I go back to my room to freshen up and put on a new uniform. And it's nearly eleven, as well, so the new Avox should be arriving any minute now.

I walk to the dining room. Mercius is lecturing a young man I don't recognize—the new Avox, I suppose. I quickly continue walking and take my place beside him.

What I first notice is his height—I'm perhaps until his eye level if he straightened up—and the shock of red hair, like mine. But whereas mine is dark, close to auburn, his is bright and shines almost orange in the light at times. He's nowhere near as pale as I am, though, and when he looks up to see me he reveals the most breathtaking pair of stormy grey eyes, and stubble graces his jawline. And—now that I think about it—he isn't actually bad looking. In fact, he's quite handsome. He stares at me for a moment, and for some inexplicable reason lets out a snort of laughter. Well, that isn't a way to greet someone you've just met.

"Quiet!" Mercius snaps. "They'll be here soon." When the elevator appears, he makes his escape.

We stand side by side, our heads bowed, waiting for the District Twelve tributes—Peeta and Katniss—to arrive. And in a short while, they do, stepping out of the elevator. Then, Haymitch and Effie arrive in the next one. Haymitch pays the tributes no mind, instead looking in mine and the red-haired man's direction, his face surly. Effie looks our way as well and says, "Looks like they've got you a matched set this year."

A matched set. What an... interesting way to put it.

Katniss turns around and sees me, looking relieved at finding a familiar face. Then she looks at the man by my side, and after a second, her expression becomes both shocked and horrified. Obviously, she knows him. Then Haymitch is at her side, holding her wrist, and they simply stare at each other. Then, Katniss pulls away and goes to her room without a word.

The others seat themselves for lunch, and I go through the motions of serving them, as always. After lunch, we go back to our rooms, located in a separated partition of the penthouse. The redhead finds his bedroom, and I go into mine and close the door.

I'm fixing my hair, using the window as a mirror, when I hear someone knocking. Probably another servant, coming to order me to clean the living room or something, so I open the door.

To my surprise, it's the redheaded young man, the new Avox. He shows me a note pad, covered in unruly handwriting. It says, "I'm sorry about earlier. It wasn't you I was laughing at. Forgive me?" It's a sweet gesture, and as I look up at him, he offers a smile. His hand goes to his bright red hair, which is sticking up in every direction, and I fight an urge to reach up and smooth it down.

For a while, I'm paralysed—from shock or something else, I have no idea. But I manage a small smile and brush a lock of hair behind my ears.

He offers me a pen and the note pad, and I reach out to get them. For only a second, our hands touch, but it sends electricity running through my veins.

Then, I remember. I invite him in, by pulling his hand slightly. He follows and closes the door.

I write a reply: "It's okay. You're forgiven." Then, I add, "What's your name?"

"Darius. You?"

Hmm. Darius. I sound it out in my head and I decide I like the name Darius. "Lavinia. You have a very nice name."

When he's done reading, he offers another one of those amazing smiles and before I can stop myself, I smile back. He writes, "Thank you. I like your name too. It suits you."

I decide to ask, "Why are you an Avox?"

As he writes, his brows push down ever so slightly. "I was once a Peacekeeper in District Twelve. I tried to save a friend of Katniss', Gale, from being whipped to death for something that didn't deserve it." I can tell he still feels strongly about the subject, and I long to ask, but I don't. Instead, I write, "Are you okay?"

He swallows. "Yes."

And, rather than offer words of comfort, I take one of his hands in mine. His are large and warm and I can feel callouses under his knuckles. I weave my fingers through his and we sit down on the bed. Resting my head against his shoulder, I feel his head leaning on mine.

After a few minutes I take up the pen once more and write. He should know, as well. "I used to live in the Capitol. I tried to escape with my brother. But we were caught. They were in their hovercraft, and they killed him. I screamed when it happened. They caught me in a net, and from far away, I saw them. Katniss and Gale, though I didn't know them then. They brought me back to the Capitol, and they... punished me." It still makes me upset, thinking about it, but Darius deserves to know. He nods in sympathy and we resume our earlier position.

Suddenly, a loud knock startles us out of our reverie. I push myself away from Darius, my eyes widening. He jumps straight up, and takes a step back.

Instead of anyone coming in and seeing us, we hear Mercius' voice, calling, "It's dinnertime! Be in the kitchen in fifteen minutes!" He then does the same thing to Darius' door, across the hall.

We let go of our held breaths. I look around for Darius and I find him on the floor behind me, crouching at the foot of the bed, trying to be hidden and failing miserably. And before I stop myself I start to laugh.

He stands up and grabs the note pad, quickly scribbling me a note: "Who's laughing at who now?"

We smile at each other and I think, _I could just look at him forever_. I raise my arms and hug him. His hands go around my waist and hug me back. I wish this could never end.

Once we've plastered on our straight faces we go out of my room and head for the kitchen. I can see him smiling secretly from time to time though, and I think I'm doing the same.

I happen to glance at him just before we go into the next corridor, and in an impulsive fit I stop walking and kiss his cheek. My lips land much closer to his mouth than I had anticipated, but I was already on tiptoe. It seems like eternity, but actually is only a few seconds.

When I pull back, I feel a little unsteady, and we're both blushing brilliantly, our red faces just as vibrant as our hair and uniforms. Why, if we stood next to a red wall we'd be invisible.

I smile slightly and hold out my hand. Darius takes it, and I've just wrapped my fingers around his when he brings it to his lips and kisses it. It's a very gentlemanly gesture and I can just see my cheeks burning.

I move my hand to his cheek and he silently says two words. I stroke his cheek gently in reply. _Thank you._

And now we really have to move to the kitchen, because lateness won't be tolerated. We keep a pretense of amiably ignoring the other, because too much happiness would be suspicious, but that doesn't stop us exchanging significant looks now and again.

As Katniss moves her arm she sends a dish of peas over the table's edge. Darius is there in a second to clean them up. Katniss also bends down seemingly to fix them up as well, but she grasps Darius' hands, and they converse silently. I look away, because I can tell they knew each other back in District Twelve. Effie says, "That isn't your job, Katniss!"

As Darius carries away the plate of peas I take a washcloth and wipe the butter stains from the floor. Soon after, all six of them have finished dinner and go to rewatch the opening ceremony.

Everyone leaves Darius and I to finish the dishes, and we work in silence (not that there's an alternative). Once we're done, we start to walk back to our rooms, and when we're in the hallway Darius holds my hand. I don't react much, but I'm happy he did that.

When we're about to go into our rooms, I put a hand on his shoulder and press three fingers to my lips, and stretch out my hand. Darius does the same, and raises his free hand to touch my cheek tenderly. I give him a smile as a way of saying good night, and we turn in.

My hair spreads across the pillow, and I can't stop grinning like a mad idiot when I collapse on my bed.

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><p>Hope you liked it :D And if you haven't done so, you should read my fanfic 'Near'. After this I plan to write another oneshot for this awesome couple. There should be more DariusLavinia love! 3

Please don't favourite without reviewing. (Because I want to know why you liked it so much!)


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